Prevent the Summer Slide

Prevent the Summer Slide

No school, the main reason why kids love summer.  To kids no school means all fun and no learning.  As a result, kids often lag trying to get back in the swing of learning when they return to school in the fall.  The last thing that kids want to do during the summer is continue learning and as a parent the last thing you want to do is push their buttons about it.  Summer however is a great time for some really fun learning!  So how do you prevent kids from falling behind during summer vacation?  Here are some ways that you can keep kids learning this summer and make it fun.

1. Start a family book club.  Kids won’t enjoy being told to read during the summer.  By getting the whole family involved the kid won’t feel like they’re being singled out or forced to read, it will become something fun to do instead of torture.  Let the kids pick the books as well.  By letting them pick the book they’re more likely to be interested in reading in the first place.  Involve snacks, crafts and fun games during book club too.  The kids will have even more fun and begin to look forward to reading and learning.  If the book is a bit advanced for them read it as a family and then try something like acting it out a second time.  In any case, make sure that your child is getting some interactive time with books!
2. Have fun in the kitchen.  Get your kids involved in the kitchen.  Assign them a night once a week where they plan and make dinner (with your help of course).  This will get them using numbers, learning to follow directions and do tasks in an order, will help them with their vocabulary and reading and can be a way to educate them about healthy eating.  Having kids work in the kitchen is a great way to get them learning.
3. Learn a new letter or word.  Every week put a new letter or word on the fridge.  During the course of the week have your kid keep track of how many times they use the word or see the word.  This will help them increase their vocabulary and it will help with counting
4. Practice writing.  Every other week have your child write a letter about what they’ve been doing this summer and send it to a relative of their choice.  This will help them work on their writing skills in a way that is fun for them and will make them feel proud.
   
5. Take them places to explore.  Providing an opportunity for a hands on learning experience is always a great way to get kids learning and having fun all in one.  Take them to the beach and see how many different shells they can find or take them to the zoo and have them make observations about the different animals and habitats.  No matter what, if they're making observations, asking questions or picking up new facts they're learning more than they would spending the afternoon watching their favorite movie again.
6. Take the kids to the library.  Kids are more likely to take an interest in reading when they see a lot of colorful books in one place and when they get to pick the book themselves. Maybe they saw an animal they really liked during that trip to the zoo, take them to the library to learn more about it.  Or, maybe they really want to learn more about the ocean, take them to the library to do some learning before that trip to the beach.  Activities are great ways to find things your kids want to learn more about and what better way to learn than through a fun book!
7. Make a goal.  What is it that interests your child the most?  Whatever it is, have them create a goal to complete by the end of each week that focuses on that interest.  Maybe its learning a songs to perform in a concert for the family or it could be making a list of things that they’d bring with them if they were an astronaut exploring outer space.  This will not only get them using their brains but it will help to encourage them to get involved with their interests or hobbies. 
8. Get their imagination flowing.  Pick a specific topic for the week (animals, shapes, food, etc) and tell your child to find something in the house that fits that theme.  Tell them they need to make up a story involving that item in some way, even if a monkey eating a banana is how they incorporate their banana.  It will get them thinking outside the box.  Another take would be to assign them to educate the family with 5 facts about their weekly item.

Outdoor Fun

"Rainbow in a Box" is a great scavenger hunt that siblings or friends from a variety of ages can enjoy. (Adapted from The Siblings' Busy Book. You may remember the authors' visit to the museum in April.) First use different colored markers to draw a few 1/2-inch dots on the bottom of a shoe box. For older children you can write the color words. Then go on a nature walk to find something of each color. Tape what you find near the dot on the bottom of the box. You and your children may be surprised at how many colors are right in your own yard.This activity reinforces color recognition and involves visual discrimination, an important pre-reading skill.

For another fun outdoor activity involving balls and ramps, check out the "Balls and Ramps I" clip from the PBS Kids Curious George Video Page (which is loaded with videos great kids videos!) You don't need to go all the way to the playground though! Try making a ramp by putting something flat such as cardboard on a stack of books or over a small staircase. You can have the kids go around and collect different size balls, as well as non-ball items such as a soup can, an apple, or toys with wheels. They can even include some things that don't roll. Now have them explore how fast and far each item rolls and why some roll better than others. The kids won't know it, but they are actually building a foundation for learning physics. Don't be afraid to incorporate new vocabulary words such as friction, gravity, and inclined plane.

One of the Museum's newer exhibits in the Fetch Lab builds on this balls and ramps theme. It is similar to the "Balls and Ramps II" clip also from the PBS Kids Curious George Video Page. After checking out this exhibit at the Children's Museum, be sure to enjoy the outdoors in our Wild Place where you can climb the tree house, dig for dinosaur fossils, or put on wings and dance in the Butterfly Garden. Don't forget your picnic lunch!

An American Educator in South Korea

We welcome you to our new series! If you are reading this you have stumbled upon something truly special! Today we proudly introduce to you Maria Mataragas, one of our volunteers (you may remember her as the Fortune Teller at last years Halloween Romp amongst other roles.) We are pleased that Ms. Mataragas has agreed to let us into the life of a traveling education innovator!

Teacher is a position of highest value in all cultures. Every country and person around the world is shaped by the knowledge, passion and kindness of this special group of dedicated individuals! With the economy here in the states leaving something to be desired and less steady jobs available more and more of our recently graduated and young teachers are answering the call of duty in nations across the globe. The lure of steady pay and the adventure of travel can seem almost too good to be true

Maria is a passionate educator whose involvement in teaching has carried her from one side of the Earth to the other. She now makes her home in Gangneung, South Korea, bringing lessons she learned in the states and at the Museum to the upcoming generation of enthusiastic learners! Her love of innovative teaching techniques and hands on learning through engagement makes her a leader of a new generation of teachers! Maria will be contributing articles for us about education & culture. She will also be twittering for us, keeping us all up to date on what's going on in international education and answering any and all of your questions! Check her out www.twitter.com/MariaCME. Without further adieu, here she is!

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Education is of special value. Whether it is teaching a large or a small class, the key point of success in education is to have the students trust you. Once trust is placed, everything else is easy.

This is how I felt in America. I was a Title I Reading Tutor in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. The school I instructed was the most beautiful, well organized and above all, caring environment I’ve ever worked in. This school inspired me to become an educator. The love I feel for teaching was equally matched to the love I hold for traveling.

With the recession, my job for Title I Reading was cut. As I joined others for the enormous job hunt, many websites about teaching abroad jumped directly unto my attention. The itch for travel became stronger with every resume, cover letter and email I sent to companies, schools and other businesses. Finally, the decision to teach abroad was apparent. I applied. I got the job. I left.

I teach in Solol (straight pine tree of the sea) Middle School in Gangneung, South Korea. The school is very professional, very strict with guidelines for students to abide. Guidelines such as uniforms, hair length, types of glasses and shoes are targeted and must be followed. Individuality and expressing oneself through creativity is prohibited. Studying for the purpose of exams is education according to my school. If a student breaks the rules punishment is physically severe, something which an American parent would never tolerate.

Korean students have a mounting pressure put upon them due to competitive reputations. South Korea is a community based country; everything is done together and shared. Every family name is known in this association of people and neighborhood. If a child succeeds or fails, the reflection is upon the parent’s ability or inability to provide for their child’s education. The only way to prevent their reputation from being tarnished in the community is to send their children to private schools until the late evening. For example, my students come to school at 8 a.m., stay for an after-school program until 4:30 p.m., then go to a private school for each subject that they are not passing. They don’t go home until 11:30 p.m.

I’m an American and I know what it’s like to be a child and get dirty with scraped knees. That is the spirit of being a child. American children are allowed to run wild with their imaginations, get paint on their cheeks and have gum stuck in their hair. Being a teacher to American children means I get to understand them more, help guide them to achieve any dream they want, as long as they know they can do it. Being a teacher in South Korea, the freedom to choose, the freedom to express, the freedom to get dirty and get to understand the children is not entirely there, because their future is already molded for them. These children are only allowed to study and work. From an American point of view, their childhood is taken away from them; however from a South Korean point of view, their future is being built.